The Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen - Top WW1 German Ace The Red Baron - Top Ace of WWI, 80 victories By Stephen Sherman , Aug. 2001. Updated Aug. 1, 2012. The Red Baron was one of those heroes whose life seems almost scripted. Discipline, pride, hunting skills, and Teutonic patriotism all combined in this man, bringing him to the pinnacle of fame which long outlasted the man himself. "Curse you, Red Baron," cried Snoopy, the Mitty-esque canine ace of Charles Schultz' Peanuts comic strip. But Richthofen was no caricature, methodically claiming 80 aerial victories, before falling himself, in a Wagnerian finale. Youth Born on May 2, 1892 to a Prussian noble family, junker landholders, Manfred von Richthofen, learned to hunt at an early age. Growing up in Silesia (now part of Poland) young Manfred learned from his father, a Uhlan career officer, and his maternal Schickfuss relatives.

In the protected game forests, he and his brothers, Lothar and Bolko, hunted wild boar, elk, birds, and deer, collected and displayed their trophies in their castle. Later, the great ace would bring the same love of the hunt and love of victory to his aerial battles. He entered the Prussian cadet corps (military school) at age eleven, where he was an indifferent student. In 1911, he entered Uhlan Regiment Number 1, which he enjoyed, at least insofar as the opportunities it gave him to ride horses. He first fought on the Russian front, where the highlight of his cavalry exploits seemed to be capturing and locking up a Russian priest in his own bell tower. Transferred to the West, his Uhlan regiment spent several enjoyable, peaceful months in the rear areas. An assignment to the quartermaster corps didn't satisfy Richthofen. "My dear Excellency," he wrote, "I have not gone to war to collect cheese and eggs ..." He asked to serve with a flying unit. In May, 1915, his request was granted. Flier Soon, he was back in the East, as a reconnaissance flier and then a bomber.

During June, July and August, 1915, he remained with the 69th Flying Squadron which participated in Mackensen's advance from Gorlice to Brest-Litovsk. He had joined it as quite a junior observer and he had no special expertise. As a cavalryman his business had consisted in reconnoitering. So the Aviation Service as an observer was in his line and he enjoyed the long reconnoitering flights which they undertook nearly every day. Still dissatisfied, he complained again and was removed to Ostend on the Western front, as a back-seat observer in a reconnaissance plane. With pilot Lt. Zeumer, they patrolled over the North Sea, and once spotted a submarine beneath the water, but did not bomb it as they could not determine its nationality. His first encounter with an English airplane, on September 15, 1915, ended without real damage to either plane; but gunner Richthofen and pilot Zeumer both thought that the other could have handled the combat better. Transferred to the Champagne front, he flew with pilot Osteroth.

With his ring-mounted machine gun, he managed to shoot down a Farman aircraft, but could not get credit for the kill, as it fell behind Allied lines. His hunter's instinct had been awakened. Still determined to join the great hunt in the skies, he started pilot training in October, 1915, making his first solo on the 10th. He damaged the plane on landing and had to take more training at Doberitz. On Christmas Day, 1915, he passed his examination. In connection with it, he flew to Schwerin, where the Fokker works are situated. From Schwerin flew to Breslau, to Schweidnitz, to Luben and then returned to Berlin. During his tour, he landed in many places in between, visiting relatives and friends. Being a trained observer, he did not find it difficult to find his way. In March, 1916, he joined KampfGeswchader 2 before Verdun and learned learned how to handle a fighting two-seater airplane.

Assigned a two-seat Albatros BII reconnaissance plane (max speed 66 MPH, 100 HP engine, ceiling 9,840 feet), he rigged a machine gun on the upper wing, much like the Nieuport 11. Piloting this Albatros over Verdun on April 26, 1916, he sighted a French Nieuport and opened up at 60 yards. The stricken French fighter dived into Fort Douamont; Von Richthofen had his first kill, although he would gain no official credit. While in France, he had a few opportunities to fly a Fokker single-seat fighter, further whetting his appetite to fly fighters. Again switched back to the Russian front, he continued to fly "C" class reconnaissance/light bombers. As the Russians had few planes, flying and bombing there was agreeable duty, relatively safe and with readily accomplished missions, like bombing the Manjewicze railway station, strafing Cossack cavalry, knocking out the Stokhod River bridge, etc..

In August, he met the great ace Oswald Boelcke (40 kills), who was in the East recruiting fliers for a new Jagdstaffel (Jasta 2). After a brief interview, Boelcke took Richthofen back with him, to the Somme. Boelcke's Pupil While the well-organized British air arm held command of the air over the bloody battlefield of the Somme, Boelcke's new group, Jasta 2, made an immediate impact. On Sept. 17, 1916, in Jasta 2's first mission, the baron shot down an FE-2 two-seater. (Built by the Royal Aircraft Factory, FE-2's frequently fell to von Richthofen. The FE-2 biplane featured a pusher propeller, mounted aft of the short pod containing the observer, the pilot, and the 160HP Beardmore engine. Used both as a fighter and a reconnaissance plane, both of its crew had a machine gun, giving it a certain strength in redundancy.) On the morning of the 17th, Boelcke led his squadron up and spotted the English planes first.

They were heading toward Cambrai, with Jasta 2 between them and their own lines. Richthofen approached one, maneuvering to get behind it, where he would have the advantage. The English pilot twisted and turned expertly, but briefly let Richthofen behind him. Richtofen described the action:. In a fraction of a second I was at his back with my excellent machine. I gave a few bursts with my machine gun. I had gone so close that I was afraid I might dash into the Englishman. Suddenly, I nearly yelled with joy for his propeller had stopped turning. I had shot his engine to pieces; the enemy was compelled to land, for it was impossible for him to reach his own lines. The English machine was curiously swinging to and fro. Probably something had happened to the pilot. The observer was no longer visible. His machine gun was apparently deserted. Obviously I had hit the observer and he had fallen from his seat. The Englishman landed close to one of our squadrons. I was so excited that I landed also and in my eagerness, I nearly smashed up my machine. The English airplane and my own stood close together.

I had shot the engine to pieces and both the pilot and observer were severely wounded. The observer died at once and the pilot while being transported to the nearest dressing station. I honored the fallen enemy by placing a stone on his beautiful grave. For the next month, Jasta 2 "found a happy hunting ground over the Somme battlefield." Ironically, Boelcke did not live long to enjoy the success of his new elite Jasta. He was killed in early November, in a collision with another German flier; von Richthofen carried the great ace's decorations on a pillow in his funeral. By Nov. 9, von Richtofen had increased his score to ten. Death of Major Hawker, V.C. Like any great hunter, Manfred von Richthofen reveled in bagging the largest game. On November 23, 1916, he encountered Major Lanoe George Hawker, V.C., "the British Boelcke," in Richthofen's words, big game indeed. Hawker was one of the first fliers to take a pistol with him in the air and was also the first to arm an early Bristol scout with a Lewis gun.

He downed a German two-seater over Ypres in July, 1915. Flying constantly, he downed one German plane after another. (In those early days, British records of aerial victories were not kept as carefully as later.) Hawker was decorated with the Victoria Cross and given command of Number 24 squadron. On the morning of the 23rd, Hawker led three planes in an attack on some German two-seaters. But it was an ambush. The bait promptly fled, while Richthofen's fighters dived after the British fliers. Lieutenants Andrews and Saunders were hit, but managed to escape. Hawker stayed to fight; against him were Richthofen and the best pilots of Jasta 2. Starting at 6,000 feet, the airplanes tore at each other, twisting and turning in descending circles, down to 2,000 feet. Desperate to gain an advantage, Hawker looped and got off a burst. He missed and fled for home, now at tree-top level. But the German aircraft was faster and Richthofen was determined. In Richthofen's own words: Our speed is terrific.

[Hawker] starts back for his front. He knows my gun barrel is trained on him. He starts to zigzag, making sudden darts right and left, confusing my aim and making it difficult to train my gun on him. But the moment is coming. I am fifty yards behind him. My machine gun is firing incessantly. We are hardly fifty yards above the ground - just skimming it. Now I am within thirty yards of him. He must fall. The gun pours out its stream of lead. Then it jams. Then it reopens fire. That jam almost saved his life. One bullet goes home. He is struck through the back of the head. His plane jumps and crashes down. It strikes the ground just as I swoop over. His machine gun rammed itself into the earth, and now it decorates the entrance over my door [to the family castle at Schweidnitz]. He was a brave man, a sportsman, and a fighter. Hawker was Richthofen's eleventh victim. Another order went to his Berlin silversmith, for a plain, silver cup, just two inches high, engraved briefly with the aircraft and date of his victory.

The Flying Circus After victory number 16, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite (the Blue Max). He then organized his own Jagdstaffel 11, dubbed by journalists "The Flying Circus." His qualities showed. He was methodical; he figured the odds; with mathematical precision, he calculated position, angles, and fire control to kill his prey. He led his group with order and discipline, requiring his fliers to study and follow his tactics. About this time (late 1916), he painted his aircraft red, and began to be known as "The Red Baron." But even Richtofen, in his new all-red Albatros D III, didn't always have it his own way. On January 23, 1917, the Richthofen Circus pounced on some British camera planes of the 25th Squadron (FE-2 two-seater, pusher planes). Richthofen fired into an airplane piloted by Capt. Grieg, with 2nd. Lt. J. E. MacLenan as observer. His bullets tore into Grieg's leg, who struggled heroically to regain control of the aircraft. Oil splattered all over the wounded craft.

MacLenan tossed the camera over and began firing his Lewis gun. He and the nearly blinded Grieg kept shooting back at the relentless Red Baron, and eventually their bullets crippled the Albatros, cracking its wing. Both aircraft crash-landed near Vimy. As German infantry approached, Grieg fired a flare pistol into his downed plane, setting it afire, thus denying it to the Germans. In mid-March, he got it again, this time when his group of five planes attacked fifteen British machines over Lens. As the enemies had seen each other at a great distance, both groups flew right at each other for several nerve-tingling minutes. When one of the British scouts peeled off, Richthofen thought he had an easy kill. Closing to fifty meters on the straggler, he test-fired his guns, and calmly planned his enemy's destruction. He suddenly realized that he had been ambushed when his Albatros was hit by machine gun fire. His fuel tank was holed, so he switched off his engine promptly. Even one drop on the hot engine could have fatally ignited his plane.

He managed to bring his aircraft down behind German lines, but had difficulty persuading an officer that he had, in fact, shot down twenty-four airplanes. By March 26, 1917, the Baron had downed thirty-one Allied planes. He had become a cold, ruthless hunter and killer; machine guns helpless pilots of crashed aircraft and blasting his victims as they tried to escape the cockpits of doomed airplanes. He carried with him a gruesome photograph of a British flier he had horribly shot apart, the photograph given to him by an admiring German infantry colonel. Bloody April The British airmen were obsessed with the Red Baron and were determined to destroy him, one way or another. On April 5, they planned a massive bombing raid on his aerodrome at Douai. German intelligence alerted Richthofen, but he choose to stay put. A few hours before the raid was due, he and his senior pilots sat down to a splendid dinner. While they puffed their after-dinner cigars, the phone rang, "English bombers on the way." In the dugout bomb shelter, he entertained his men with wine, ribald stories, jokes, and tales of aerial combat.

Meanwhile, no British bombers came over. Finally, seventeen of the bombers found the Baron's field and loosed their destruction. The bombs found fuel and ammunition stores, setting huge explosions. The hangars were hit by the second wave. But Manfred von Richthofen and his crack pilots were unhurt. In the month of April, Jasta 11 shot down 89 British airplanes. As winter weather had cleared, both sides were able to fly a lot. The Germans could employ their group fighting tactics. And their Albatros D.III scouts over-matched the British pusher biplanes and the French Nieuport 11's. Manfred von Richthofen alone claimed 20 in the month. Wounded, July 1917 The German press, eager for any good news or for any hero from the mindless, muck and blood-filled horror of the stagnant trenches, showered the Red Baron with adulation. After a short leave in May, he hurried back to rejoin The Flying Circus. By the end of June, 1917, his collection of little silver cups totaled fifty-six.

Then, on July 2, he encountered the British RFC 20th Squadron, and two of its pilots: Flt. Cdr. A. E. Woodbridge and Capt. Pilot D. C. Cunnell. Woodbridge described the action: Cunnell handled the old FE for all she was worth, banking her from one side to the other, ducking dives from above and missing head-on collisions by bare margins of feet. The air was full of whizzing machines, and the noise from the full-out motors and the crackling machine guns was more than deafening ... Cunnell and I fired into four of the Albatroses from as close as thirty yards, and I saw my tracers go right into their bodies. Those four went down ... Some of them were on fire - just balls of smoke and flame - a nasty sight to see. Two of them came at us head-on, and the first one was Richthofen. There wasn't a thing on that machine that wasn't red, and how he could fly! I opened fire with the front Lewis and so did Cunnell with the side gun.

Cunnell held the FE on her course and so did the pilot of the all-red scout [Richthofen]. With our combined speeds, we approached each other at 250 miles per hour ... I kept a steady stream of lead pouring into the nose of that machine. Then ... The Albatros' pointed her nose down suddenly and passed under us. Cunnell banked and turned. We saw the all-red plane slip into a spin. It turned over and over, round and round, completely out of control. His motor was going full on, so I figured I had at least wounded him. As his head was the only part that wasn't protected by his motor, I thought that's where he was hit. Indeed, a British bullet had creased and partially splintered his skull. Despite the best treatment available for the national hero, the wound never properly healed; the scar tissue, bone splinters and even thorns continued to cause Richthofen maddeningly painful headaches. He went home on leave, but when he returned, his skills were off. He went two weeks without a kill.

By September, now flying the famous red Fokker Dr.I triplane, he had recovered enough to reach the 60 victory milestone, an unprecedented achievement. Fokker Dr. 1, built 1917, powered by Thulin-built Le Rhône 9J 9-cylinder air-cooled rotary 110 HP engine, weighed 1,289 lbs., max. speed of 103 MPH, max. ceiling of 19,685 feet, 2 synchronized Spandau machine guns Winter, 1917-18 After a Christmas leave, hunting in the Bialowicka forest with Lothar, he resumed his pursuit of aerial quarry. When he downed 2nd Lt. H. J. Sparks, his 64th, he sent the hospitalized British flier a box of cigars. In March and April of 1918, he shot down 17 airplanes, while flying his trademark all-red Fokker Triplane. Richthofen's last victory was number 80; Lt. D. E. Lewis walked away from his wreck. Last Dogfight Canadian Capt.

Roy Brown led a flight fifteen Sopwith Camels on the morning of April 21, 1918, flying cover for some photo planes. When some Fokkers and Albatroses jumped the camera planes, a huge dogfight ensued, over thirty planes twisting, shooting, and tearing at each other. A scarlet Albatros got behind a young Canadian, Lt. Wilford May. Seeing his plight, Capt. Brown went after the Baron, firing his Lewis gun. And then the aircraft of the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen, dived and crashed near Sailly-le-Sac, an area held by Australian infantry. The Aussies immediately recovered the plane and were astonished to discover inside Richtofen's body. Almost as quickly, the event became the subject of confusion. The low-key Captain Brown never officially claimed the kill; and some Australian gunners did. To this day, no one knows for sure who brought down the greatest ace of The Great War. Funeral The British decided to hold a grand funeral for their late adversary. Laid out on a lorry, covered with flowers, escorted by RAF officers, his body was taken to a hangar, where it lay in state for a day.

Hundreds of British soldiers filed past to view the Red Baron. The next day, the burial itself was another military pageant, with six RAF Captains as pallbearers, a fourteen-man firing party with rifles reversed, a flower-draped coffin, a service conducted by a robed chaplain, and a bugler blowing "The Last Post." Photographs were taken of the funeral, and British planes dropped them over his airdrome at Cappy with the message: TO THE GERMAN FLYING CORPS: Rittmeister Baron Manfred von Richthofen was killed in aerial combat on April 21st, 1918. He was buried with full military honours. From the British Royal Air Force Summary of Victories Von Richthofen's eighty victories have been as well-researched as any fighter pilot's claim. See this detailed list of The Red Baron's Kills . A surprisingly large percentage of his 80 kills can be matched to specific British loss records. Most of his victories came in the spring. In March/April of 1917, he downed 31 planes. In the same two months of 1918, he downed 17 aircraft.

During most other months of active flying (from Sept. 1916 through April 1918), he usually claimed 3 to 6 kills each month. In the three months Aug., Sept., and Nov. 1917, while recovering from his injury, he only shot down 6 planes altogether. He brought down sixteen B.E.2's, thirteen F.E.2's, eight Sopwith Camels, seven R.E.8's, five Brisfit's, five Spad VII's, five Nieuports, and fewer numbers of nine other types. Richthofen Castle The Red Baron's legacy lives on in popular culture, in the Peanuts cartoon, in a pop song of the 1960s, and even a castle in Denver. Modeled on the original family home in Germany, the Denver castle was built by Manfreds' uncle and godfather, Walter, in 1887. The local rumor that it is haunted, and it was recently up for sale, for only $3,000,000.

Another aspect of his legacy was the board game "Richthofen's War," a strategy game made by Avalon Hill in the 1970s. As far as I know, "Richthofen's War" has not been released as a video/PC video. Richthofen's Grave After Richthofen's death in 1918, the British buried his remains in a village churchyard at Bertangles, France, with full military honours. Later the coffin was transferred to a War Graves Commission cemetery. In 1925, it was moved to the Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin (the Prussian national military cemetery), at the request of German veterans' organisations. German President von Hindenburg, the Chancellor, and the whole cabinet were among the dignitaries present. Von Richthofen's reburial was seen as a symbol of homecoming for many who had suffered loss in WWI. In 1961 when the Berlin Wall was constructed, the Invalidenfriedhof was at the very edge of the demarcation zone in the Russian sector. It was only possible to visit the cemetery with special permission.

For this reason von Richthofen's surviving brother, Bolko, got permission from the East German government to rebury the remains in the family burial plot in Wiesbaden. The reburial book place in 1975. Sources: Heroes of the Sunlit Sky, by Arch Whitehouse, Doubleday, 1967 The Canvas Falcons, by Stephen Longstreet, Barnes & Noble, 1970 Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft: 1914-1980, by Enzio Angelucci, The Military Press, 1983 The Red Air Fighter, by Manfred Von Richthofen, Norman Franks Manfred von Richthofen's 1917 book. The German title Der Rote Kampfflieger has also been variously translated as "Red Fighter Pilot" and "Red Battle Pilot." This edition includes C.C. Grey's preface to the original, wartime English translation. It's written in the first person, in a very immediate style, of course from von Richthofen's own perspective. It stops in mid-1917, just before his bad injury.

It also includes a chapter on Manfred's brother, Lothar. The Red Baron Scores Two Victories, 1917 The Red Baron Scores Two Victories, 1917 Printer Friendly Version >>> With 80 confirmed kills, Baron Manfred von Richthofen was World War One's highest scoring combat pilot and its most famous flyer. He began his military career as a cavalryman but switched to the air corps in 1915 first as an observer and then as a fighter pilot. He scored his first combat kill in September of 1916. Baron Manfred von Richthofen, 1917 Richthofen became Germany's top-scoring living ace in January 1917 after shooting down his 16th victim. He was awarded the Orden Pour le Merite (the famous "Blue Max"), Germany's highest military honor and given command of his own unit populated with the cream of the crop of Germany's combat pilots. In order to distinguish himself to his fellow flyers and to ground troops, Richthofen painted his plane a blazing red, earning the name the "Red Baron" from his British opponents.

Richthofen's comrades followed suit and painted their planes with unique colors prompting the British to refer to Richthofen's unit as the "Flying Circus". By the spring of 1918 the Red Baron had shot down 80 victims. His luck was about to run out. On April 21 he chased what would have been kill number 81 far behind the British lines. The grim ballet between hunter and hunted brought both planes closer and closer to the ground. With his quarry firmly in his sights, the Red Baron was suddenly felled by a single bullet coming either from troops on the ground or from a Canadian pilot flying in hot pursuit and desperately trying to save his comrade. The British buried their famous opponent the following day with full military honors. Richthofen was 25 years old. "He paid for his stupidity with his life." The early spring of 1917 brought dark days for the Royal Flying Corps fighting on the Western Front. Nine hundred twelve British flyers died that month which became known as "Bloody April." Richthofen accounted for 21 of the British planes shot down - his highest scoring month.

Richthofen's diary describes the events of one of those April days: ADVERTISMENT "The second of April, 1917, was a very warm day for my Squadron. From my quarters I could clearly hear the drum-fire of the guns which was again particularly violent. I was still in bed when my orderly rushed into the room and exclaimed: 'Sir, the English are here!' Sleepy as I was, I looked out of the window and, really, there were my dear friends circling over the flying ground. I jumped out of my bed and into my clothes in a jiffy. My Red Bird had been pulled out and was ready for starting. My mechanics knew that I should probably not allow such a favorable moment to go by un-utilized. Everything was ready. I snatched up my furs and then went off. I was the last to start. My comrades were much nearer to the enemy. I feared that my prey would escape me, that I should have to look on from a distance while the others were fighting. Suddenly one of the impertinent fellows tried to drop down upon me. I allowed him to come near and then we started a merry quadrille.

Sometimes my opponent flew on his back and sometimes he did other tricks. He had a double-seated chaser. I was his master and very soon I recognized that he could not escape me. During an interval in the fighting I convinced myself that we were alone. It followed that the victory would accrue to him who was calmest, who shot best and who had the clearest brain in a moment of danger. After a short time I got him beneath me without seriously hurting him with my gun. We were at least two kilometers from the front. I thought he intended to land but there I had made a mistake. Suddenly, when he was only a few yards above the ground, he once more went off on a straight course. He tried to escape me. That was too bad. I attacked him again and I went so low that I feared I should touch the roofs of the houses of the village beneath me. The Englishman defended himself up to the last moment. At the very end I felt that my engine had been hit. Still I did not let go. He had to fall. He rushed at full speed right into a block of houses. There was little left to be done. This was once more a case of splendid daring.

He defended himself to the last. However, in my opinion he showed more foolhardiness than courage. This was one of the cases where one must differentiate between energy and idiocy. He had to come down in any case but he paid for his stupidity with his life. I was delighted with the performance of my red machine during its morning work and returned to our quarters. My comrades were still in the air and they were very surprised, when, as we met at breakfast, I told them that I had scored my thirty-second Pilots of Richthofen's squadron surround him as he sits in his all-red Albatros D.III. Richthofen's brother, Lothar, sits in the foreground. April 1917. machine. A very young Lieutenant had 'bagged' his first aeroplane. We were all very merry and prepared everything for further battles. I then went and groomed myself. I had not had time to do it previously. I was visited by a dear friend, Lieutenant Voss of Boelcke's Squadron. We chatted. Voss had downed on the previous day his twenty-third machine. He was next to me on the list and is at present my most redoubtable competitor.

When he started to fly home I offered to accompany him part of the way. We went on a roundabout way over the Fronts. The weather had turned so bad that we could not hope to find any more game. Beneath us there were dense clouds. Voss did not know the country and he began to feel uncomfortable. When we passed above Arras I met my brother who also is in my squadron and who had lost his way. He joined us. Of course he recognized me at once by the color of my machine. Suddenly we saw a squadron approaching from the other side. Immediately the thought occurred to me: 'Now comes number thirty-three.' Although there were nine Englishmen and although they were on their own territory they preferred to avoid battle. I thought that perhaps it would be better for me to re-paint my machine. Nevertheless we caught them up. The important thing in aeroplanes is that they are speedy. I was nearest to the enemy and attacked the man to the rear. To my greatest delight I noticed that he accepted battle and my pleasure was increased when I discovered that his comrades deserted him. So I had once more a single fight. It was a fight similar to the one which I had had in the morning.

My opponent did not make matters easy for me. He knew the fighting business and it was particularly awkward for me that he was a good shot. To my great regret that was quite clear to me. A favorable wind came to my aid. It drove both of us into the German lines. My opponent discovered that the matter was not so simple as he had imagined. So he plunged and disappeared in a cloud. He had nearly saved himself. I plunged after him and dropped out of the cloud and, as luck would have it, found myself close behind him. I fired and he fired without any tangible result. At last I hit him. I noticed a ribbon of white benzine vapor. He had to land for his engine had come to a stop. He was a stubborn fellow. He was bound to recognize that he had lost the game. If he continued shooting I could kill him, for meanwhile we had dropped to an altitude of about nine hundred feet. However, the Englishman defended himself exactly as did his countryman in the morning. He fought until he landed. When he had come to the ground I flew over him at an altitude of about thirty feet in order to ascertain whether I had killed him or not. What did the rascal do?

He took his machine-gun and shot holes into my machine. Afterwards Voss told me if that had happened to him he would have shot the airman on the ground. As a matter of fact I ought to have done so for he had not surrendered. He was one of the few fortunate fellows who escaped with their lives. I felt very merry, flew home and celebrated my thirty-third aeroplane." References: Richthofen's account appears in: Richthofen, Manfred, The Red Battle Fighter (translated by T. Ellis Barker) (1917); Burrows, William E., Richthofen; a true history of the Red Baron (1969); Reynolds, Quentin, They Fought for the Sky (1957). How To Cite This Article: "The Red Baron Scores Two Victories, 1917," EyeWitness to History, (2005). Manfred von Richthofen | Uncyclopedia | Fandom powered by Wikia [ show ] Nicknames Von Richtofen earned many nicknames from his German companions, including "The Red Devil", "The Red Battle Flyer", and "Little Red Riding Hood".

French , American , and British fighter pilots encountering the Red Baron in flight also developed nicknames for him, but none of these pilots lived long enough for any of these names to have survived. During his life, von Richthofen was rarely referred to as 'Baron', as the proper title for his level of nobility was 'Freiherr', despite von Richthofen's repeated requests to be called Baron because 'it sounds so much cooler '. Nicknames based on his kill count rarely stuck, as every time fellow pilots began to call him 'Ace' (5 kills), 'Super-Ace' (10 kills), 'Stroker Ace' (15 kills), or 'Ace Frehley' (20 kills), he would immediately earn the next title. Early Life The Red Baron showed a strong interest in a military career from a fairly young age The Baron was born into a family of Prussian nobility in the small village of Breslau, Germany .

By the time he was nine years old, he had used his Power WheelsTM biplane to single-handedly shoot down every species of bird native to his neighborhood, including the dangerous Porcupine Hawk (which, like the porcupine, is capable of firing its quills like projectiles). During his enrollment in military school, von Richtofen showed a wonderful talent for cooking. Despite his parent's objections, the Baron spent more time developing pizza recipes than training to be a pilot. Historians can only speculate as to how much von Richthofen would have revolutionized the food industry had World War I not broken out. Military Career Von Richthofen enlisted in the German Air Force, which was known as the Luftwaffle . He was initially a reconnaissance observer on the Eastern Front. However, he quickly earned his fighter pilot's wings when, on one of his first missions, he shot down a French farming plane. Over the next few years the legend of the Red Baron grew, as he caused Allied Air Force planes to fall from the sky by the dozens. After switching airplanes several times, von Richthofen settled on the Fokker Tri-plane, an aircraft that allowed for maximum killicity. Snoopy vs.

the Red Baron I In September of 1917, during a routine scenic flight over French countryside, von Richthofen encountered and shot down a British pilot known only as ' Snoopy '. The exact nature of this Allied ace, and the rivalry that followed, are shrouded in mystery. The only reliable account comes from historical musical artists The Royal Guardsmen, who witnessed and documented (through song) several of the more important battles of World War I. Many of these gruesome accounts of trench warfare and horrific injury have been lost, but the accounts of the aerial rivalry between Snoopy and the Baron remain more or less intact. Snoopy is described as a 'funny-looking dog with a big black nose'. Historians agree that this is some sort of military code, or possibly the paint scheme used on Snoopy 's planes to make them look more awesome. In any case, after initially being shot down, von Richtofen's adversary consulted with a military engineer known only as 'The Great Pumpkin'. Upon this genius' completion of a new warplane, Snoopy took to the skies in search of the Baron. They encountered each other in October of 1917, this time over Germany.

While the Baron was laughing at his enemy's foolish attempt to even the score, the British ace looped him and thus had him dead in his sights. Despite von Richthofen's best efforts, Snoopy fired once, and he fired twice, and that Bloody Red Baron went spinnin' out of sight. An artist's rendition of the British ace Snoopy. Snoopy vs. the Red Baron II (Christmas Version) After taking a month to recover from injures sustained during the crash, von Richthofen took to the skies again in December of 1917. When it became obvious to the British that the Baron was flying once more, the Allied command ignored all of its men and called upon Snoopy to do it again. On December 24th, the two met in an epic aerial battle near the French - German border. Both of these pilots respected the ancient traditions of aerial warfare, especially the guidelines concerning one-on-one dogfights. It was for this reason that both pilots shot down dozens of other fighter planes, sometimes from their own side, to ensure a fair battle. Eventually, the forty-below temperature got to Snoopy , and the Baron got him dead in his sights.

Why he didn't fire, we'll never know; or was it the bells from the village below? Von Richtofen forced Snoopy to land in Germany . The British ace was fearing the end, when the Baron cried out "Merry Christmas, Mein Friend!" After sharing a holiday drink, both pilots flew off to their respective countries, leaving the rivalry for another time. Anachronistic Missions Sometime around March of 1918, when top German military officials concluded that the war was nearly won, it became apparent that von Richthofen's talents were no longer necessary. Not wanting to waste such an asset, the German government sent the ace back in time to observe other German military operations. One of the most interesting cases the government was eager to know more about was where (when) they sent the Baron first. Waterloo The Red Baron is seen here strafing French positions at Waterloo . The Battle of Waterloo , which took place in 1815, greatly interested German historians/quantum-physicists in 1918. They were concerned because all accounts of the battle point to German intervention in the nick of time, resulting in French defeat, yet the specific nature of the German force was unclear.

They sent von Richthofen back to scout the area using his plane, and to determine what sort of German troops were responsible for the victory. Upon arriving in 1815, the Baron encircled the battlefield, watching as Napoleon 's troops simply ran over the British opposition. He grew extremely nervous as the time of the rescue approached, yet still there were no German forces visible. Finally, he could wait no longer, and the Baron turned into a steep dive. He mercilessly slaughtered French troops by the hundreds using his machine gun and killer instinct. Time and time again he strafed the Emperor's battle formations, until they scattered and ran like...well, like Frenchmen . Upon his return to 1918, German historians realized that the mysterious savior had been von Richthofen all along, and his decision to participate in the battle had averted yet another logical paradox . Great Time Travel War of 1871 Due to the great success of his mission to Waterloo , the German military decided to use von Richthofen during several other battles that were closely contested.

In March and early April of 1918, von Richtofen flew missions during several periods of time, ensuring decisive German victories in each. Not much is known about these exploits, but it appears that during these forays into history the Baron became entangled in the Great Time Travel War of 1871 . After successfully escorting Billy The Kid back to the proper time and avoiding all logical impossibilities, the Baron turned back to German military concerns. Battle of Britain After assisting German military concerns in the past, the German government turned to the future. On April 21, 1918, von Richthofen was sent to 1940. The bombing of Britain had commenced, but German bombers were suffering heavy losses from British fighters. The Red Baron was tasked with escorting the bombers on their missions and destroying any enemy fighters. Despite flying in a World War I era triplane, von Richthofen easily shot down wave after wave of British fighters. Historians dispute the final flight of Red Baron. After several grueling months of escorting bombers, some theorize that combat stress had caused him to become too reckless in his piloting. Others claim he was gunned down by unexpected ground fire.

In any case, on October 29, the Red Baron was shot down and killed. Some of the craziest historians argue that the person responsible for finally ending the Baron's reign over the sky was none other than Snoopy , possibly after also being sent forward in time. Others claim that the Allies did not possess time travel technology until the 1950s, and thus Snoopy simply waited the 22 years between the wars for his revenge. This theory is not widely supported, as the time between the wars is actually 280 dog years. References ↑ This death-count of 80 kills accounts strictly for pilots Richthofen killed via machine gun, and would doubtless be much higher if historians agreed on the number of his early kills as another pilot's wingman, the countless spineless enemy pilots who intentionally flew their planes into the ground upon sighting his terrifying tri-winged airplane ; the pilots who killed themselves with laudinum overdoses before taking to the air to avoid fight him, or the dozens of girls dredged from rivers or confined to mental asylums after Richthofen rejected their love.

MANFRED VON RICHTHOFEN THE RED BARON WORLD WAR 1 FLYING ACE AND THE BLUE MAX MEDAL HISTORY The most successful fighter pilots who took part in aerial battles during the First World War were called flying aces. The term first appeared in 1915 when French newspapers described Adolphe Pegoud as a flying ace after he became the first pilot to shoot down five German aircraft. In 1916 during the Battle of Verdun the French fighter units began publishing the scores of individual pilots. German Air Service followed the example of France but their pilots were only listed when they had achieved eight confirmed 'kills'. In 1916 Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann were Germany's two most successful flying aces. Both these men benefited from the introduction of the synchronized gear which made it easier for pilots to hit their targets. The Royal Flying Corps also began publishing figures in 1916. It was also decided that British pilots who achieved eight victories would be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Pilots who won this award included Major Mick Mannock (73 victories), William Bishop (72), Raymond Collishaw (68) and James McCudden (58).

France's most successful pilots included Rene Fonck (75), Georges Guynemer (53) and Charles Nungesser (43). However, it was the German pilot, Manfred von Richthofen, the 'Red Baron', with eighty victories, who achieved the highest figure during the First World War. The publication of these figures helped to build up morale during the war. They were also used to persuade young men to join the armed forces and to encourage experienced pilots to compete with their comrades. The figures published in the newspapers were not always accurate. Dogfights often involved large numbers of aircraft and it was not always clear who was really responsible for the actual 'kill'. To obtain a 'confirmed' victory involved the inspection of the wreckage, and this was of course impossible when the aircraft had come down behind the enemy front-line. Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (2 May 1892 ï¿½ 21 April 1918), also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkrï¿½fte) during World War I.

He is considered the top ace of that war, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories. By 1918, he was regarded as a national hero in Germany, and was very well known by the other side. Manfred von Richthofen was born in Schweidnitz, Germany . Richthofen was shot down and killed near Amiens on 21 April 1918. There has been considerable discussion and debate regarding aspects of his career, especially the circumstances of his death. He remains perhaps the most widely known fighter pilot of all time, and has been the subject of many books, films and other media. He was originally a cavalry officer in the German Army, but transferred to the German Army Air Service in May 1915. Initially an observer on reconnaissance flights over the Eastern Front, he became a fighter pilot on the Western Front in August 1916. He served under Oswald Boelcke and quickly became his star pupil. By January 1917, Richthofen had shot down fifteen aircraft had been appointed commander of his own unit. He painted the fuselage of his Albatros D-III a bright red and was nicknamed the Red Baron.

After the death of Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann, Richthofen became the most famous war ace in Germany. Richthofen was also well-known in Britain and became a hate-figure after Allied propaganda portrayed him as a man who enjoyed killing. First World War dogfight In June 1917, Richthofen was appointed commander of the German Flying Circus. Made up of Germany's top fighter pilots, this new unit was highly mobile and could be quickly sent to any part of the Western Front where it was most needed. Richthofen and his pilots achieved immediate success during the air war over Ypres during August and September. He also held strong opinions on aircraft design and was involved with Anton Fokker in the production of the Fokker D-VII. Manfred von Richthofen was killed when he was was brought down by ground fire on 21st April 1918. Richthofen had been responsible for shooting down 80 allied aircraft, the highest score of any fighter pilot during the First World War . NICKNAME - THE RED BARON Richthofen was a Freiherr (literally "Free Lord"), a title of nobility often translated as Baron.

This is not a given name nor strictly a hereditary titleï¿½since all male members of the family were entitled to it, even during the lifetime of their father. This title, combined with the fact that he had his aircraft painted red, led to Richthofen being called "The Red Baron" "der Rote Baron" both inside and outside Germany. During his lifetime, however, he was more often described in German as Der Rote Kampfflieger (variously translated as The Red Battle Flyer or The Red Fighter Pilot). This name was used as the title of Richthofen's 1917 autobiography. Richthofen's other nicknames include "Le Diable Rouge" ("Red Devil") or "Le petit Rouge" ("Little Red") in French, and the "Red Knight" in English . EARLY LIFE Von Richthofen coat of arms.Von Richthofen was born in Kleinburg, near Breslau, Lower Silesia (now part of the city of Wrocław, Poland), into a prominent Prussian aristocratic family.

His father was Major Albrecht Phillip Karl Julius Freiherr von Richthofen and his mother was Kunigunde von Schickfuss und Neudorff. He had an elder sister (Ilse) and two younger brothers. When he was four years old, Manfred moved with his family to nearby Schweidnitz (now Świdnica). He enjoyed riding horses and hunting as well as gymnastics at school. He excelled at parallel bars and won a number of awards at school. He and his brothers, Lothar and Bolko, hunted wild boar, elk, birds, and deer. After being educated at home he attended a school at Schweidnitz, before beginning military training when he was 11. After completing cadet training in 1911, he joined an Uhlan cavalry unit, the Ulanen-Regiment Kaiser Alexander der III. von Russland (1. Westpreuï¿½isches) Nr. 1 ("1st Uhlan Regiment 'Emperor Alexander III of Russia (1st West Prussia Regiment)' "), and was assigned to the regiment's 3. Eskadron ("Number 3 Squadron").

Manfred von Richthofen, My First English Victim (17th September, 1915) We were all at the butts trying our machine guns. On the previous day we had received our new aeroplanes and the next morning Boelcke was to fly with us. We were all beginners. None of us had had a success so far. Consequently everything that Boelcke told us was to us gospel truth. Every day, during the last few days, he had, as he said, shot one or two Englishmen for breakfast. The next morning, the seventeenth of September, was a gloriously fine day. It was therefore only to be expected that the English would be very active. Before we started Boelcke repeated to us his instructions and for the first time we flew as a squadron commanded by the great man whom we followed blindly. We had just arrived at the Front when we recognized a hostile flying squadron that was proceeding in the direction of Cambrai. Boelcke was of course the first to see it, for he saw a great deal more than ordinary mortals. Soon we understood the position and everyone of us strove to follow Boelcke closely.

It was clear to all of us that we should pass our first examination under the eyes of our beloved leader. Slowly we approached the hostile squadron. It could not escape us. We had intercepted it, for we were between the Front and our opponents. If they wished to go back they had to pass us. We counted the hostile machines. They were seven in number. We were only five. All the Englishmen flew large bomb-carrying two-seaters. In a few seconds the dance would begin. First World War Air Flying Aces Boelcke had come very near the first English machine but he did not yet shoot. I followed. Close to me were my comrades. The Englishman nearest to me was traveling in a large boat painted with dark colors. I did not reflect very long but took my aim and shot. He also fired and so did I, and both of us missed our aim. A struggle began and the great point for me was to get to the rear of the fellow because I could only shoot forward with my gun. He was differently placed for his machine gun was movable. It could fire in all directions.

Apparently he was no beginner, for he knew exactly that his last hour had arrived at the moment when I got at the back of him. At that time I had not yet the conviction "He must fall!" which I have now on such occasions, but on the contrary, I was curious to see whether he would fall. There is a great difference between the two feelings. When one has shot down one's first, second or third opponent, then one begins to find out how the trick is done. My Englishman twisted and turned, going criss-cross. I did not think for a moment that the hostile squadron contained other Englishmen who conceivably might come to the aid of their comrade. I was animated by a single thought: "The man in front of me must come down, whatever happens." At last a favorable moment arrived. My opponent had apparently lost sight of me. Instead of twisting and turning he flew straight along. In a fraction of a second I was at his back with my excellent machine. I give a short series of shots with my machine gun. I had gone so close that I was afraid I might dash into the Englishman. Suddenly, I nearly yelled with joy for the propeller of the enemy machine had stopped turning.

I had shot his engine to pieces; the enemy was compelled to land, for it was impossible for him to reach his own lines. The English machine was curiously swinging to and fro. Probably something had happened to the pilot. The observer was no longer visible. His machine gun was apparently deserted. Obviously I had hit the observer and he had fallen from his seat. The Englishman landed close to the flying ground of one of our squadrons. I was so excited that I landed also and my eagerness was so great that I nearly smashed up my machine. The English flying machine and my own stood close together. I rushed to the English machine and saw that a lot of soldiers were running towards my enemy. When I arrived I discovered that my assumption had been correct. I had shot the engine to pieces and both the pilot and observer were severely wounded. The observer died at once and the pilot while being transported to the nearest dressing station. I honored the fallen enemy by placing a stone on his beautiful grave. Book of WW1 Air Aces Manfred von Richthofen was with Oswald Boelcke when he was killed in October, 1916. One day we were flying, once more guided by Oswald Boelcke against the enemy.

We always had a wonderful feeling of security when he was with us. After all he was the one and only. The weather was very gusty and there were many clouds. There were no aeroplanes about except fighting ones. From a long distance we saw two impertinent Englishmen in the air who actually seemed to enjoy the terrible weather. We were six and they were two. If they had been twenty and if Boelcke had given us the signal to attack we should not have been at all surprised. The struggle began in the usual way. Boelcke tackled the one and I the other. I had to let go because one of the German machines got in my way. I looked around and noticed Boelcke settling his victim about two hundred yards away from me. It was the usual thing. Boelcke would shoot down his opponent and I had to look on. Close to Boelcke flew a good friend of his. It was an interesting struggle. Both men were shooting. It was probable that the Englishman would fall at any moment. Suddenly I noticed an unnatural movement of the two German flying machines. Immediately I thought: Collision. I had not yet seen a collision in the air. I had imagined that it would look quite different.

In reality, what happened was not a collision. The two machines merely touched one another. However, if two machines go at the tremendous pace of flying machines, the slightest contact has the effect of a violent concussion. </font> Boelcke drew away from his victim and descended in large curves. He did not seem to be falling, but when I saw him descending below me I noticed that part of his plane had broken off. I could not see what happened afterwards, but in the clouds he lost an entire plane. Now his machine was no longer steerable. It fell accompanied all the time by Boelcke's faithful friend. It is a strange thing that everybody who met Boelcke imagined that he alone was his true friend. I have made the acquaintance of about forty men, each of whom imagined that he alone was Boelcke's intimate. Each imagined that he had the monopoly of Boelcke's affections. Men whose names were unknown to Boelcke believed that he was particularly fond of them. This is a curious phenomenon which I have never noticed in anyone else. Boelcke had not a personal enemy. He was equally polite to everybody, making no differences.

Manfred von Richthofen, Red Air Fighter (1918) Those who hear nowadays of the colossal bags made by certain aviators must feel convinced that it has become easier to shoot down a machine. I can assure those who hold that opinion that the flying business is becoming more difficult from month to month and even from week to week. Of course, with the increasing number of aeroplanes one gains increased opportunities for shooting down one's enemies, but at the same time, the possibility of being shot down one's self increases. The armament of our enemies is steadily improving and their number is increasing. When Max Immelmann shot down his first victim he had the good fortune to find an opponent who carried not even a machine gun. Such little innocents one finds nowadays only at the training ground for beginners. The Red Baron by Peter Kilduff In his book "Red Air Fighter" Manfred von Richthofen described killing Lanoe George Hawker. In view of the character of our fight it was clear to me that I had been tackling a flying champion. One day I was blithely flying to give chase when I noticed three Englishmen who also had apparently gone a-hunting.

I noticed that they were watching me and as I felt much inclination to have a fight I did not want to disappoint them. I was flying at a lower altitude. Consequently I had to wait until one of my English friends tried to drop on me. After a short while one of the three came sailing along and attempted to tackle me in the rear. After firing five shots he had to stop for I had swerved in a sharp curve. The Englishman tried to catch me up in the rear while I tried to get behind him. So we circled round and round like madmen after one another at an altitude of about 10,000 feet. First we circled twenty times to the left, and then thirty times to the right. Each tried to get behind and above the other. Soon I discovered that I was not meeting a beginner. He had not the slightest intention of breaking off the fight. He was traveling in a machine which turned beautifully. However, my own was better at rising than his, and I succeeded at last in getting above and beyond my English waltzing partner.

When we had got down to about 6,000 feet without having achieved anything in particular, my opponent ought to have discovered that it was time for him to take his leave. The wind was favorable to me for it drove us more and more towards the German position. At last we were above Bapaume, about half a mile behind the German front. The impertinent fellow was full of cheek and when we had got down to about 3,000 feet he merrily waved to me as if he would say, "Well, how do you do?" The circles which we made around one another were so narrow that their diameter was probably no more than 250 or 300 feet. I had time to take a good look at my opponent. I looked down into his carriage and could see every movement of his head. If he had not had his cap on I would have noticed what kind of a face he was making. My Englishmen was a good sportsman, but by and by the thing became a little too hot for him. He had to decide whether he would land on German ground or whether he would fly back to the English lines.

Of course he tried the latter, after having endeavored in vain to escape me by loopings and such like tricks. At that time his first bullets were flying around me, for hitherto neither of us had been able to do any shooting. When he had come down to about three hundred feet he tried to escape by flying in a zig-zag course during which, as is well known, it is difficult for an observer to shoot. That was my most favorable moment. I followed him at an altitude of from two hundred and fifty feet to one hundred and fifty feet, firing all the time. The Englishman could not help falling. But the jamming of my gun nearly robbed me of my success. My opponent fell, shot through the head, one hundred and fifty feet behind our line. DEATH OF AN ACE Richthofen was fatally wounded just after 11:00 am on 21 April 1918, while flying over Morlancourt Ridge, near the Somme River.

49ï¿½56′0.60″N 2ï¿½32′43.71″E / 49.9335ï¿½N 2.545475ï¿½E / 49.9335; 2.545475 At the time, the Baron had been pursuing (at very low altitude) a Sopwith Camel piloted by a novice Canadian pilot, Lieutenant Wilfrid "Wop" May of No. 209 Squadron, Royal Air Force. In turn, the Baron was spotted and briefly attacked by a Camel piloted by a school friend (and flight commander) of May's, Canadian Captain Arthur "Roy" Brown, who had to dive steeply at very high speed to intervene, and then had to climb steeply to avoid hitting the ground. Richthofen turned to avoid this attack, and then resumed his pursuit of May. It was almost certainly during this final stage in his pursuit of May that Richthofen was hit by a single .303 bullet, which caused such severe damage to his heart and lungs that it must have produced a very speedy death.

In the last seconds of his life, he managed to make a hasty but controlled landing (49ï¿½55′56″N 2ï¿½32′16″E / 49.9321076ï¿½N 2.5376701ï¿½E / 49.9321076; 2.5376701) in a field on a hill near the Bray-Corbie road, just north of the village of Vaux-sur-Somme, in a sector controlled by the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). One witness, Gunner George Ridgway, stated that when he and other Australian soldiers reached the aircraft, Richthofen was still alive but died moments later. Another eye witness, Sergeant Ted Smout of the Australian Medical Corps, reported that Richthofen's last word was "kaputt". His Fokker Dr.I, 425/17, was not badly damaged by the landing, but it was soon taken apart by souvenir hunters. No. 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, as the nearest Allied air unit, assumed responsibility for the Baron's remains.

In 2009, Richthofen's death certificate was found in the archives in Ostrï¿½w Wielkopolski, Poland. Richthofen had briefly been stationed in Ostrï¿½wï¿½which was part of Germany until the end of World War Iï¿½before going to war. The document, which is a one-page, handwritten form in a 1918 registry book of deaths, misspells Richthofen's name as "Richthoven" and simply states that he has "died 21 April 1918, from wounds sustained in combat". CONTROVERSY Contradictory hypotheses continue to surround the identity of the person who fired the shot that actually killed Richthofen. The RAF credited Brown with shooting down the Red Baron, but it is now generally agreed that the bullet that hit Richthofen was fired by someone on the ground. Richthofen died following an extremely serious and inevitably fatal chest wound from a single bullet, penetrating from the right armpit and resurfacing next to the left nipple. Brown's attack was from above and the left.

Even more conclusively, Richthofen could not have continued his pursuit of May for as long as he did (up to two minutes) had this wound come from Brown's guns. Brown himself never spoke much about what happened that day, claiming, "There is no point in me commenting, as the evidence is already out there". Many sources, including a 1998 article by Geoffrey Miller, a physician and historian of military medicine, and a 2003 U.S. Public Broadcasting Service documentary, have suggested that Sergeant Cedric Popkin was the person most likely to have killed Richthofen. Popkin was an anti-aircraft (AA) machine gunner with the Australian 24th Machine Gun Company, and was using a Vickers gun. He fired at Richthofen's aircraft on two occasions: first as the Baron was heading straight at his position, and then at long range from the right. Given the nature of Richthofen's wounds, Popkin was in a position to fire the fatal shot, when the pilot passed him for a second time, on the right. Some confusion has been caused by a letter that Popkin wrote, in 1935, to an Australian official historian.

It stated Popkin's belief that he had fired the fatal shot as Richthofen flew straight at his position. However, in the latter respect, Popkin was incorrect: the bullet that caused the Baron's death came from the side (see above). A 2002 Discovery Channel documentary suggests that Gunner W. J. "Snowy" Evans, a Lewis machine gunner with the 53rd Battery, 14th Field Artillery Brigade, Royal Australian Artillery is likely to have killed von Richthofen. However, Miller and the PBS documentary dismiss this theory, because of the angle from which Evans fired at Richthofen. Other sources have suggested that Gunner Robert Buie (also of the 53rd Battery) may have fired the fatal shot. There is little support for this theory. Nevertheless, in 2007, a municipality in Sydney recognised Buie as the man who shot down Richthofen, placing a plaque near Buie's former home. Buie, who died in 1964, has never been officially recognised in any other way. The commanding officer of No.

3 Squadron AFC, Major David Blake, initially suggested that Richthofen had been killed by the crew of one of his squadron's R.E.8s, which had also fought members of Richthofen's unit that afternoon. This claim was quickly discounted (if only because of the time factor) and withdrawn. Following an autopsy that he witnessed, Blake became a strong proponent of the view that an AA machine gunner had killed Richthofen. The Red Baron: Manfred von Richthofen Biography Wars and Conflicts of the 20th Century Studio portrait of German aviator Baron Manfred Von Richthofen (1882 - 1918) holding a cigarette while wearing a military uniform. Known as 'The Red Baron,' he won eighty aerial victories before he was killed in action over France during WWI. (Photo by Nicola Perscheid/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Updated October 19, 2015. World War I was a bloody war, fought in muddy trenches and overwhelmed with slaughter. Yet a few soldiers escaped this anonymous end - fighter pilots. They volunteered to fly when just going up in an airplane seemed heroic.

However, most fighter pilots achieved only a few victories before they too were shot down. Yet, there was one man, Baron Manfred von Richthofen, who liked to fly in a blazing red airplane and shoot down plane after plane. His achievements made him both a hero and a propaganda tool. With 80 credited victories , Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron," defied the odds and became a legend in the air. The Young Soldier Manfred Albrecht von Richthofen's entry into the world on May 2, 1892 made his father, Major Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (Freiherr = Baron), extremely happy. continue reading below our video Profile of Manfred von Richthofen, The Red Baron Though Manfred was his second child, Manfred was his first son. Two more sons, Lothar and Karl Bolko, soon followed. The Richthofens came from a long line that could be traced back to the sixteenth century. Many in the family raised merino sheep and farmed on their lands in Silesia. Manfred grew up in his family's villa in the town of Schweidnitz.

There, his Uncle Alexander, who had hunted in Africa, Asia, and Europe, fired in Manfred a passion for hunting. Even before Manfred was born, Albrecht von Richthofen had decided that his first son would follow in his footsteps and join the military. Albrecht himself had become one of the first Richthofen's to become a career military officer. Unfortunately, a daring rescue to save several other soldiers who had fallen into the icy Oder River had left Albrecht deaf and with an early retirement. Manfred did follow in his father's footsteps. At age eleven, Manfred entered the Wahlstatt cadet school in Berlin. Though he disliked the school's rigid discipline and received poor grades, Manfred excelled at athletics and gymnastics. After six years at Wahlstatt, Manfred graduated to the Senior Cadet Academy at Lichterfelde which he found more likeable. After completing a course at the Berlin War Academy, Manfred joined the cavalry. In 1912, Manfred, after having been commissioned as Leutnant (lieutenant), was stationed in Militsch (now Milicz, Poland). In the summer of 1914, World War I began.

To the Air! When the war began, Manfred von Richthofen was 22 years old and stationed on Germany's eastern border, but was soon transferred to the west. During the charge into Belgium and France, Manfred's cavalry regiment was attached to the infantry for whom Manfred conducted reconnaissance patrols. However, when Germany's advance was halted outside of Paris and both sides dug in, the need for cavalry was eliminated. A man sitting on horseback had no place in the trenches. Manfred was transferred to the Signal Corps where he laid telephone wire and delivered dispatches. Frustrated with life near the trenches, Richthofen looked up. Though he didn't know which planes fought for Germany and which ones fought for their enemies, he knew that airplanes - and not the cavalry - now flew the reconnaissance missions. Yet becoming a pilot took months of training, probably longer than the war would last. So instead of flight school, Richthofen requested to be transferred to the Air Service to become an observer. In May 1915, Richthofen traveled to Cologne for the observer training program at the No. 7 Air Replacement Station.

Even though Richthofen didn't have to fly the airplane, he still had to go up in one. At seven o'clock the next morning I was to fly for the first time as an observer. Naturally, I was very excited, because I could not imagine what it would be like. Everyone I asked told me something different. The night before I had gone to bed earlier than usual to be fresh for the great moment next morning. We drove to the airfield and I sat in an airplane for the first time. The blast of wind from the propeller disturbed me greatly. It was impossible to make myself heard by the pilot. Everything flew away from me. If I took a piece of paper out, it disappeared. My flying helmet slipped off, my muffler loosened too much, and my jacket was not buttoned securely - in short, I was miserable. Before I knew what was happening, the pilot got the engine up to full speed and the machine began rolling, faster and faster. I hung on frantically. Then the shaking stopped and we were in the air. The ground slipped away beneath us.1 During this first flight, Richthofen lost sense of his location and thus was unable to give the pilot directions.

So they landed. Richthofen continued to study and learn. He was taught how to read a map, drop bombs, locate enemy troops, and draw pictures while still in the air. Prev

Question: How many 'victories' did The Red Baron claim in aerial dogfights?
Answer: 80